Why CJ Abrams Is UNTOUCHABLE: The Case For Keeping Washington Nationals All-Star Shortstop

Why CJ Abrams Is UNTOUCHABLE: The Case For Keeping Washington Nationals All-Star Shortstop

I’m willing to make a lot of trades this off seasonason if I’m Paul Tabone, but the one that I am not willing to make is CJ Abrams, and I’ll explain exactly why after this. [Music] You are Locked on Nationals, your daily Washington Nationals podcast, part of the Locked On podcast network, your team every day. And thank you all for making Lockdown Nationals your first listen every single day as we are free and available wherever you get your podcast. And I am your host Ryan Clary. You can find me on Twitter, Ryanclar 111, and also look up Locked On Nationals wherever you get your podcast as we are part of the Locked On Network, now the number one sports podcasting network in the nation. So, that’s awesome to say. But later on in today’s program, Major League Baseball and the draft. I’m telling you right now that Paul Tabone, he is going to run this draft very differently. While the Nationals will not be selecting inside that top 10, they will still be in the hunt for making a ton of changes in the draft. So, I want to talk about that later on in the program today. And then the second segments, Nats fans, brace yourselves for a wild off season. I’ll tell you exactly what could be happening. I think I’ve got the script. But we start off discussing CJ Abrams. And I think right now there’s a lot of rumors flying with a CJ Abrams trade. I mean, a lot of pundits in baseball are talking about it, but now is not the time to trade your All-Star shortstop. I’ll tell you why I feel that way. But today’s episode is brought to you by FanDuel. And right now, new customers can bet just $5. And if your bet wins, you’ll get $300 in bonus bets to use across the app. So download the app today. CJ Abrams is in the rumor belt. I have said time and time again, he is the one guy right now who are in some of these trade rumors that I am not willing to trade. I think right now, here’s what is where his value stands. Number one, he’s got three years left of control. I think when we talk about McKenzie Gore, he’s got two years left of control. And on top of that, he is also a Scott Boris client. CJ Abrams is represented by Rock Nation Sports that is owned by Jay-Z, which is kind of cool. But I think that you have a better shot at extending CJ Abrams than anybody on this roster today. And if I am Paul Tabone, I think that right now, if I were him, I would be trying to extend him. I would think that Paul Tabone has a long-term plan when it comes to C.J. Abrams because here’s the thing with Abrams. He might be one of the most talented guys on this team. Like when I think of talent, obviously you think of James Wood and you think of Dylan Cruz. But I think as far as ceilings go, C.J. Abrams has a wickedly high ceiling that I think a lot of people just kind of overlook at times, including myself. We have to think of this. CJ may not be the most polished defensive uh shortstop in the game. I’ve gone on record saying that I would move him over to second base. I think that makes him a lot better and more valuable player because right now there is no worse defensive shorts stop in the game if we’re being honest. Like he has been really bad and most of his errors come from throwing errors which obviously kind of indicates that there’s some weird mechanical issue going on with him. Maybe Paul Tabone thinks that with his range over at shortstop, even though you might say, “Well, his range isn’t that good according to baseball savant, I think it could be a lot better than what it has been.” But if you make a few mechanical tweaks, then maybe CJ really gets the ball going in this thing and maybe CJ can develop into a solid shortstop. I don’t need CJ to be some gold glove caliber defender. Would it help? Absolutely. But his value is where he is offensively. I think there is obviously there’s more dynamic players offensively, but there’s not that many. There is a short list of guys who can do the things that CJ can do. I think that his strikeout rate and his contact rate are pretty elite. I think he could improve in his walk rate and kind of be more selective with his pitches. We’ve seen him do that. And when he does do that, that’s when he draws walks. That’s when he gets on base more often. And when you have someone with that speed and with that potential, that’s who you want on the base paths. I think that right now Abrams is too valuable for me to move. I think that you can’t just find CJ Abrams in anyone’s farm system. Like this is still one of the most talented shortstops in the game in my opinion. He can be good defensively. It’s about matter of tapping into that talent. And if you’re ready to punt on it, I’m kind of in that same situation. But if Paul Tabone thinks that Michael John’s, who’s been this defensive guru supposedly, if he can work with CJ Abrams, then let’s have it happen. But then also what he does offensively, what he can do on the base paths. Like that is so valuable. And you simply cannot find someone in any of the farm systems out there that have the talent that CJ does. for McKenzie Gore. And the reason why I would trade him, it’s not really about his talent because McKenzie Gore is kind of in that same conversation. While I think he’s one of the best left-handed pitchers in baseball, I do think it’s a little bit easier to replace his production at the starting pitching level than it is for a starting shortstop who has the offensive production the way that CJ Abrams does. And I’m also betting on CJ here reaching that ceiling. And if he doesn’t reach that ceiling, then I’ll look back in a few years and say, “Wow, was I stupid for not wanting to trade him at this time.” But I’m just not willing to make that deal at this point. It just doesn’t make sense for me to move off a good, valuable positional player with three years of control left who has the ceiling that CJ Abrams has. I think we kind of forget just at times just how talented this kid is. We did not expect for him to hit 20 home runs each and every single season. That was never the expectation. The dream was to hit like 10 to 15 per year. And I truly think right now that CJ has actually developed his power game to where he could hit 25, 26, 27 home runs each and every single season. I think he has the ability to get on base a little bit more often. I obviously think that right now he has the ability to steal 40 plus bases each and every single season. It’s just a matter of getting on base and being a smart base runner. And then defensively speaking, if you really hone in on his craft and if you think that you can develop him over at shortstop, you can convince me of that. There are obvious mechanical errors there with his defense. If you can clean some of those up and CJ buys into it, then yes, you have yourselves a very good shortstop that in my mind you will not be able to replace at least for these next few years. I think that right now the gnats are in this rebuild still. Duh. We all know that. That’s why you’re trying to trade McKenzie or But with CJ Abrams here, you just simply cannot convince me that if you trade CJ Abrams, this would set you back by a year or two. And yes, you might get some good prospects in return, but are teams going to be trading for what his value will be or are teams going to be trading for what his value has been? Because those are two very different conversations to have. I still think CJ hasn’t even snipped his ceiling. We’ve talked about the inconsistencies with his game and how that has held him back. But if you have him at his top peak here, that is one of the most valuable shorts stops in the game. And if he’s not a shortstop, then valuable second base. If he’s not a second baseman, than a center fielder. Like his talent is something that I am willing to bet on. And with this player development staff and with Tabone and Devin Pearson and Justin Horowitz now and Mike Dearalo and this front office that seems to have a very very good player development minds with them. I am willing to take a gamble when it comes to CJ Abrams. I am not willing to trade him at this point. If someone wants to offer me some Godfather package to where we’re talking like a franchise altering move, which I don’t expect to happen, then yeah, I guess we can trade CJ. But I just don’t think that’s going to be the case. And I also come back to this point. I think we could extend CJ Abrams. Will ownership open up the pocketbook for it? Maybe. But also, will Paul Deabone want to do that at this point? Maybe. Those are two things that you have to also keep in mind here. But I just feel as if the reason why I would trade Gore is because there’s two years left of control and he’s rep by Scott Boris. We kind of know how this thing goes. And then with CJ’s case, he’s got three years of control left and he’s rep by Rock Nation, a company that is willing to extend their players before they hit the final year of arbitration. So, I think there’s going to be a lot at stake here, but as of right now, you could not convince me that now is the time to trade CJ Abrams. I think that he has a lot of room to grow. I think he will be a lot better than what a lot of people might think of him at this point. And three, it just doesn’t feel right at this point. you should hang on to CJ Abrams because I think there is a good chance that we have not even seen the ceiling of what this guy could be both offensively and defensively as well. So maybe with a new staff in here with a new front office, a new coaching staff, I would not be see be surprised at all to see CJ Abrams completely turn it around. And thank you all for making Lockdown Nationals your first listen. Next and later on in the show today, I got a little preview of the MLB draft because I think that Paul Tibone is going to be just completely different when it comes to running this draft. And also with the guys that he has with him, I think just kind of reading everything around this organization, things are going to look different. But it’s not just going to look different in the MLB draft, things are going to look different like today and tomorrow and the rest of this off season. I think that the Nationals and this fan base, you should brace yourselves for a wild off seasonason. I’ll tell you why after this. The NBA is back and there is no better place to get in on the action than FanDuel, the official sports betting partner of the NBA. And even if you miss the start of the game or want to ride the hot hand, FanDuel has live bets on everything from who will score next to fourth quarter comebacks. And plus, you could even combine your live bets into a same game parlay for a shot at a larger payout. And it keeps every game exciting, especially when your team’s making that late push. Maybe you want to go Alex Sar over on the points as he has had this breakout second season. Or maybe it’s Bub Carrington and what he can do on the defensive side of things. maybe going to go over on his steals while also betting against the Wizards each and every single night because we are in tank season for the Wizards. So, of course, with our friends at FanDuel right now, FanDuel is giving new customers $300 in bonus bets when your first $5 bet wins. So, head to FanDuel.com to sign up and play your game with FanDuel, the official sports betting partner of the NBA. We’re back here on Locked on Nationals and later on in the show today, I want to take a look at the MLB draft and why I believe things could look completely different this upcoming draft. And it’s not coming up this winter, it’s coming up in the summer, but I think it’s easy to talk about it now and why I believe it will be a lot different. But Nationals fans, brace yourselves for a crazy off season. And first and foremost, brace yourselves for a McKenzie Gore trade. I think that this is going to be like a shoein at this point. There is so much smoke surrounding a McKenzie Gore trade, especially coming from these GM meetings. I’m not saying that Paul Timone is going around telling national reporters like, “Hey, we’re going to trade Mackenzie Gore.” But you can clearly tell that it has been one of the biggest discussions so far in Las Vegas. And I think that this makes sense for the Nationals. Like this is exactly what they should be trying to do. If you are in their shoes, you kind of have to restart this thing. And I think that right now the one that makes the most sense is McKenzie Gore. But we don’t have to really hash into that. I’ve talked about that all offseason long. Check out yesterday’s show. Check out on Monday’s show. We’ve talked about it and you can get my full deep dive into that. But I think that right now that is the move that makes the most sense. And it’s not even just because like we need to shake things up or we’re not high in Mckenzie Gore. I love Mackenzie Gore. I think McKenzie Gore has again the best stuff on this team by far. The best stuff probably in this system outside of Travis Aurora by far. And I think that McKenzie Gore is obviously not someone that you’re just going to replace via free agency or come up with a minor league prospect that’ll help you in 2026. Maybe it’s Harleen Susanna eventually, but who knows? McKenzie Gore, that is going to be the trade that is going to happen and it is going to shake up the way that the Nationals just kind of see this thing. And I think a lot of Nationals fans will probably be upset with that trade there. But that’s kind of what we have to do. So obviously that’s number one. That’s a huge huge move that probably will happen. Number two, this is just going to be a complete shakeup from the norm. Like I expect to see some minor league trades. When was the last time that you have seen the Nationals like exchange minor leaguers? I feel as if the Braves do this every off seasonason where they’ll trade like their number 16 prospect and get back like another team’s 14 prospect or 20th prospect and you’re like, well, why would they do that? And then you see that guy pitch in the summer for the Atlanta Braves and you’re like, oh, he’s coming out of the bullpen and he’s blowing 99 miles per hour by people. I feel as if the Nationals have not utilized that strategy in a lot of ways. Like I do think that this is going to be a completely different regime moving forward in the way that they operate from how they see the game, from how they see the snack room, from how they see the the recovery room, whatever it could be. Things are just going to be different. And I think that we haven’t really understood just how different it was to have Mike Grizzo here for 15 years. Like, you don’t really get that in baseball. You don’t really get that in life in general to have that steady consistency the way that we had. But also a lot of these things and a lot of Rizzo’s views in my mind were a little outdated. And so I think that right now what you’re going to see with the Nationals is you’re going to see a lot of different things and a lot of new shakeups which I think will be good for this organization. So, a big shakeup might be looking like trading away some of your minor leaguers, maybe some of your prospects, and you get other prospects in return to get more pitching help. Maybe it’s trading away a Christian Frankliner and Andrew Pinkney to get another talented pitcher in this building. like you don’t know the way that Paul Tabone and Justin Horowitz and Devin Pearson and Mike Debarlo, we don’t understand how they could be thinking about this, but smart analytical organizations make moves like that and they see value in completely different ways and that’s kind of the way that the Nationals have not run things for years now. Maybe also the Nationals definitely not last in this situation. You might see a surprise non-tender. You could see Luis Garcia Jr., you can make the case for him being non-tendered. You could make the case for Jake Irvin being non-tendered. I think expecting the unexpected is probably the stata status quo that you want to think of right now. I do not know what the Nationals are going to do. Like I think that as I’ve watched baseball and in the way that I’ve seen other organizations do it, there are a lot of surprising moves. I feel as if that with Mike Rizzo and company, we always kind of knew what exactly was going on because we knew the way that he thought. He was very front-facing. He was not afraid to say his opinion out loud. And I think we all kind of knew the way that he felt about certain players. And so we kind of figured out what exactly was going to happen in the offseason. The way that he spoke after the season or during it, meeting with reporters, we all kind of figured out the way that Mike Grizzo and how he runs this ship. But I also think that with this, we do not know. And while Paul Tabot obviously comes from a very analytical-minded organization like the Red Sox, he also comes from a very smart organization and showing trust and showing patience with a lot of these players. So maybe the surprise is that they keep a lot of guys that you may not expect to keep. That could be easily one of them. And last again but not least, this whole new regime. They have a completely different way the way that they view value. Like we just talked about it this way. I think that with a team like this, I’m not willing to say that Mike Grizzo would have traded Mackenzie Gore this off season. I think it would have makes made sense and I think that if Mike Rizzo got a package that he was willing to move off Gore with, he probably would have done that. But I also think that Mike Rizzo this past year had no intentions of trading Mackenzie Ziggor at this year’s deadline. Like I don’t even think it was going to be a thought. Mike Rizzo and Dave Martinez thought that this team was going to be a winner. Clearly was not. Things happen, injuries happen, of course, but that’s the way that 162 game season is going to go. Things are going to happen. Things will be moved. People will get hurt. But I think that the way that this regime views value and just viewing this game each and every single day, they’re going to have a totally new and different and unique approach that I think a lot of Nationals fans will not be ready for. But also, I think a lot of Nationals fans will probably notice the big difference will be this summer when it comes to the MLB draft. And I really am excited for this one because I love the MLB draft and that is how you get talent in this building. I’ll tell you what I think could be happening after this. And we are back here on Locked on Nationals. Look up Locked on Nationals over on YouTube for the video version. Again, look up Locked on Nationals wherever you get your podcast. So, we just talked about just kind of expect the unexpected this off seasonason and why it’s going to be a crazy one. Just kind of giving you a little weekend Friday preview here. But also, I’m excited to see what they do in the MLB draft. Mike Rizzo, really kind of one of my main gripes with him, I guess you could say, was that Mike Rizzo had a type and he never moved off from that type. Even year after year, when you take that right-handed pitcher who throws 98 out of college, it doesn’t work out. Whether it be Eric Fetty, Jackson Rutled, Mason Dennberg coming out of the prep levels, uh I’m foretting the left-handed pitcher, uh Seth Romero, whose obviously name has kind of been forgotten about as of late, but he was a first round pick that would have been a highly touted prospect, but the Nationals kind of had some off-field issues with him. eventually moved off him. And there’s a couple other guys in there as well. They had a type, but unfortunately for the Nationals, they were not able to develop that type over the years. And I think that really what did in Mike Rizzo was just kind of the lack of drafting, the lack of developing when it came to the MLB draft. I’m interested to see what Paul Tabone and Justin Horowitz and Devin Pearson and the way that they viewed this draft, not just this specific one, but overall, I think a team like the Brewers, they’re the team that like you look at right now and you’re like, whatever they do in the draft and international scouting, they do it the correct way. The Nationals have never been like the Brewers. Obviously, they’re not a small market team. They might be run like one, but still they’re not a small market team. You look at the Brewers and what exactly they do. They cut deals in round one. They sign a ton of prep player bats later on in the drafts in like round six and round seven, eight and beyond. Like they have done that for years now at this point and it’s worked out because they have this waves they have these waves of prospects that just simply never end for them. I think that you will see a lot of things similar to that nature here. And I think that with the Nationals and the way that they’re going to run things this past draft that was run by Mike Dearlo where you saw a ton of prep bats in the system and now they’re signed with the Nationals ultimately, you should expect that now. That should be the normal for this team. And I think that is a good great thing even because this is what these smart analytical-minded organizations do. They try to project some of these prep bats and I think in a lot of different cases having guys so young in your system number one extends their timeline a little bit. Like if let’s say this year in the third round just throwing that out there for a second. Let’s say you took a college bat out of um Witchah State. Don’t know why I said that, but Witchah State and but also you have the option of taking an 18-year-old prep bat who is a little bit raw, may not have all the tools yet, but I think a team like let’s say the Brewers or I would even say the Astros, they would probably go with that prep high school bat. I think in years past, like you’ve seen Mike Grizzo always kind of go for that college bat in the middle rounds and kind of hope that he kind of catches lightning in a bottle. I don’t really think that’s how things should go because I think if you’re a elite college bat that is going to really kind of get up in that next level in the major leagues, you’re going to go round one. But you can find so many steals in those later rounds when it comes to these prep high school players that you will have to give more money to, but you can kind of allocate those assets with the money and the player pool that you have in different ways to just kind of rig the system, quote unquote. I think the Nationals have not done that, but I think you will start to see that. And so when we talk about different things and changes coming to this team, I think the MLB draft will be like a really tough thing to predict when it comes to this organization. Now I don’t expect them to just kind of roll over and take the best player available. Even if there is a Paul skins at the top of the board, maybe you do go that route, but maybe they cut a deal and find value elsewhere. like this is going to be completely different from what I think a lot of Nationals fans expected. So obviously we’ll be talking a lot more about this front office and the way that they could view things, but I think the MLB draft is one of the most fascinating discussions when it comes to this team. So when the draft comes around next July, it’s going to be mustwatch right here on Locked on Nationals. So I will catch you guys on the flip side. Enjoy some football this weekend. enjoy some offseason baseball discussions. I will catch you guys on Monday. Have a good one. Go Naps.

Ryan Clary makes a compelling case for why the Washington Nationals should keep CJ Abrams despite trade rumors swirling around the All-Star shortstop. He breaks down Abrams’ untapped ceiling, three years of team control, and extension potential as reasons to hold firm. Clary contrasts this with his willingness to trade Mackenzie Gore, explaining the strategic differences. He warns Nationals fans to brace for a dramatically different offseason under new POBO Paul Toboni, predicting unexpected moves including minor league swaps, potential non-tenders, and a complete philosophical shift from the Mike Rizzo era. Clary also previews how the upcoming MLB Draft will showcase this new regime’s analytical approach, drawing comparisons to organizations like the Brewers who excel at finding value in prep bats and later rounds.

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0:00 Intro

3:11 Abrams’ Defensive Struggles and Potential Solutions

5:14 CJ’s Offensive Value and Ceiling

10:51 Brace for a Wild Offseason Ahead

13:23 MacKenzie Gore Trade Seems Inevitable

15:25 New Regime Brings Different Organizational Philosophy

17:26 Expect Surprising Non-Tender Decisions

19:59 MLB Draft Strategy Under New Leadership

22:32 Learning from Teams Like the Brewers